Coalition submits testimony in support of fair pay for essential agriculture workers.

Today, the Stand Up to Factory Farms coalition submitted testimony in support of House Bill 2358 that would guarantee overtime pay to essential agriculture workers in Oregon’s agricultural industry, including industrial dairies. The bill is critical in addressing the dangers to frontline workers in Oregon’s food system revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the testimony the coalition points to the ongoing harm to agriculture workers left unprotected:

“Farmworkers, including dairy workers, are underpaid and exploited for cheap labor, making poverty-level wages for difficult and dangerous work. On top of that, most of these workers and their families do not have healthcare coverage through their employer. Agricultural workers deserve to be paid fairly for their labor.”